In a video published today by IMDb, McFarlane spoke with Kevin Smith about his plans for the film. He revealed that he will be producing the movie in partnership with Blumhouse, and that he will also direct the film. This will be McFarlane’s first project as a director of a feature film, but he has experience directing Pearl Jam, Korn, and Disturbed music videos in the late 90’s and 2000’s. He is intentionally aiming for a low budget with few special effects so he can retain creative control and deliver a darker and edgier flick than the typical superhero movie spinoff. In McFarlane’s own words, the new Spawn film will be “dark and gnarly and gritty.”

Jason Blum is responsible for such recent horror hits as Get Out, Split, and Insidious, making him the perfect collaborator for McFarlane to achieve his dark vision. McFarlane confirmed that the two will begin work on the new movie as early as next week.

John has loved movie monsters for as far back as he can remember. He's since collected up as many comics, statues, and autographed material related to movies and music that he can get his hands on. He is particularly interested in the critical and analytical discussion of the best stories the horror genre has to offer. One of his largest works on the topic is a study on the portrayals of people with disabilities in horror films.